FREE/BARGAIN — Romance & Discussion

[Aleron Ives]

Thanks. I've gotten several of her books when they were on sale, and I was planning to read Forgotten Ages first, so it's good to hear that that's not a total stinker, or anything.

[sufue]

Cross-post to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy thread for @maddz's post about a new Seanan McGuire Humble Bundle with 26 books for $18. It's almost all of October Daye, which isn't really romance, but is pretty close IMO, kind of like Mercy Thompson, so I'm cross-posting. And also almost all of her InCryptid series, which I haven't read, so can't offer an opinion on.

Like some other recent Humble Bundles, it's redeemed via Kobo.

link to the cross-post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4351097

And four or five posts down from the original one, @ottdmk has a nice list of all the books in the bundle, in series order.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Big Little Spells (Witchlore #2) by Hazel Beck (B/4 stars)

Purchased:
none

[sufue]

The first three books in Rosalind James' Escape to New Zealand series are free right now at Kindle US and UK, and the rest of the books are mostly (all?) KU, so it doesn't have to be expensive if you want to read the rest of the series. (And if you don't have KU and are a bit patient, most of the rest go on sale from time-to-time too...) This is my favorite of her series, FWIW...

Just This Once, #1
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0094KJ70G
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0094KJ70G

Just Good Friends, #2
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00948KF7C
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00948KF7C

Just For Now, #3
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00945K8GI
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00945K8GI

[sufue]

Unraveled is the fifteenth book in Jennifer Estep's Elemental Assassin series. Not quite sure if it fits here, but several of her other series do, IMO, so here's this one too...

Oh, and per its blurb, this got reviewed by RT Book Reviews, so I guess that says it fits too

It's on sale right now in the US for $1.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017I22DZC
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/unraveled-36

Spoiler:

Danger and new enemies await Gin Blanco, aka the Spider—the world of Ashland’s most fearsome assassin—in Unraveled, Book 15 of the New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series that RT Book Reviews calls “unbeatable entertainment!"

What could go wrong when you’re trying to unravel a decades-old conspiracy?

As the current queen of the Ashland underworld, you would think that I, Gin Blanco, would know all about some secret society controlling things from behind the scenes.

I might be the Spider, the city’s most fearsome assassin, but all my Ice and Stone elemental magic hasn’t done me a lick of good in learning more about “the Circle”. Despite my continued investigations, the trail’s gone as cold as the coming winter.

So when Finnegan Lane, my foster brother, gets word of a surprising inheritance, we figure why not skip town for someplace less dangerous for a few days? That place: Bullet Pointe, a fancy hotel resort complex plus Old West theme park that Finn now owns lock, stock, and barrel.

At first, all the struttin’ cowboys and sassy saloon girls are just hokey fun. But add in some shady coincidences and Circle assassins lurking all around, and vacationing becomes wilder—and deadlier—than any of us expected.

Good thing this assassin brought plenty of knives to the gunfight …

[sufue]

Stone Cold Kiwi is the second in Rosalind James' New Zealand Ever series. It's free right now at Kindle US and UK. The first has been free/on sale a few times in the past, and/or the series is KU if you have that. But here's your chance to have a copy of your own...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082SCM7N5
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082SCM7N5

Spoiler:

Falling in love can be bloody inconvenient.

Let’s inventory, shall we?

State of my professional life: Brilliant, if counted in terms of sales of Hazel the Hippo books, the substantial proceeds from selling my Kiwi Adventures New Zealand glamping business, and any number of glossy magazine articles about my charmed existence. Of course, I couldn’t seem to write or draw anymore, but that would pass. Surely.

State of my personal life: Murky. A mysterious siren I was not, in my nursing bra and only-kind-that-fits maternity panties. My three redheaded children? Good thing. Good, exhausting, frustrating, terrifying, wonderful thing. My marriage? Living with a failing marriage is like living with a toothache. It’s not going to get any better, and eventually, it’s going to get heaps worse, but who wants a root canal?

Beginning to fall for the much-too-charming, not-quite-available, stone-cold-beautiful Dr. Matiu Te Mana, on the day he delivered the third of those children on the grass outside Dunedin Hospital, a few short minutes before my marriage began its spectacular and very public final implosion? Possibly tricky.

[sufue]

The Wedding Pact Collection contains the three books and a novel in that series by Denise Grover Swank. It's free right now at Kindle US and UK.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0861FJ54X
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0861FJ54X

Spoiler:

Box set featuring the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Wedding Pact series.

Three hilarious happily-ever-after, full-length books, and a follow up short story. A childhood pact that turned into a curse. Hilarious rom com series featuring three best friends and their wedding disasters.

THE SUBSTITUTE After Megan discovers her fiancé cheating, she calls off the wedding… only she hasn’t told her mother, and it’s four days before the wedding. She gets drunk on the plane ride home and spills her guts to the horrified, yet cute passenger next to her. When the plane lands, the flight attendant threatens to have Megan arrested if she can’t walk off the plane, so what’s a nice guy like Josh supposed to do? He helps the woman out, but when he has to carry her through the terminal, he tells the worried onlookers that she’s his fiancée. Only he hadn’t planned on her family hearing him, and now he’s the substitute groom.

THE PLAYER Blair has always had a plan, and now she has the chance to make partner at her law firm… as long as she’s gets married. Not a problem since she and her long-term boyfriend have been talking marriage. Only she had no idea her boyfriend’s cousin was her one true love from law school—the player who broke her heart. Garrett totally screwed up when he left Blair, but now that fate had put her in his path, he’ll do ANYTHING to win her back. Even if he stops her wedding.

THE GAMBLER Libby was the only one to take the Wedding Pact curse seriously, so she’s planning a wedding to a man she doesn’t really love, counting on her Prince Charming to save her. Only when she’s at the altar and he hasn’t come, she realizes she needs to save herself. Noah was a charmer who never lacked for women in his bed, so becoming best friends with Libby was totally out of character. But as her wedding grows closer, he realizes that Libby’s not only his best friend—she’s the love of his life. When he tries to stop her wedding, fate intervenes, but now he has the chance to prove to Libby they belong together. Will she take a gamble on love?

THE VALENTINE Blair has always had a hard time trusting men, and her occupation as a divorce attorney doesn’t help. But when Valentine’s Day rolls around, Blair suddenly wonders if true love can last forever.

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• Payback in Death (In Death #57/#68) by JD Robb (B/4 stars)

Purchased:

[library addict]

Mills & Boon is switching from direct downloads over to the (IMO horrible) Gloss app starting September 21, 2023.

So if you have any books there you haven't yet downloaded do so by September 20th as they are cutting off access to download then.

I liked being able to still buy downloadable books a month early since Harlequin went app only a few years ago. So sad to lose that access.

[sufue]

Right now, the sixth and most recent (2021) in Susannah Nix’s Chemistry Lessons series, Elementary Romantic Calculus, is free at Kindle US and UK. I've quite liked this series, possibly because I'm a nerd at heart...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RY53TGC
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08RY53TGC

Spoiler:

Mia has had her whole life mapped out since she was 18. She’s supposed to follow up her math PhD with a research postdoc, but her 20-year tenure plan takes a surprise deviation when she’s forced to settle for a temporary teaching job at a small-town university.

It’s not easy adapting to rural life when you’re an inveterate city girl, but Mia tries to make the best of it until she can get the heck out of Podunk—er, Crowder, Texas. Things finally start to look up after a run-in with some terrifying local wildlife sends her careening into the arms of a sexy goat farmer/cheesemaker.

Mia finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Josh’s gruff cowboy charms, especially after she learns what lies behind the thick walls he’s built around his heart. The deeper their connection grows, the more Crowder starts to feel like home.

But Mia can’t afford to stay. Not unless she’s willing to give up on her dream—or trade it in for a new one.

[DuskyRose]

Romance Bookworms, Stuff Your Kindle, Three days only. 20-22nd Sept. Various genres and vendors.

https://www.romancebookworms.com

[sufue]

Joffe's Free Book Friday is usually a mystery, but today there are two books: one mystery, and one romance. So below are links for the romance, and if you want the mystery, head to the mystery thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4358319

I'm excited about the romance, because I'm a sucker for books set in France...

Escape to the Little Chateau by Marie Laval
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC5T4D7Z
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CC5T4D7Z

Spoiler:

Amy’s looking for a quiet life. Not love. Not adventure. And definitely not a centuries-old mystery . . .

Amy Carter has just moved to France to transform Bellefontaine, an overgrown farmhouse, into a successful hotel.

The estate agent fills her head with stories of local legends and mysterious rumours. But Amy doesn’t take any notice. She has big plans.

But none of these plans involve romance. Least of all with Fabien Coste, the handsome but arrogant owner of the nearby château.

She’s determined to be a success. But how can she possibly compete with his thriving luxury château?

Then Amy hears whispers about an ancient cult, still alive and thriving to this day. Amy shrugs the stories off as just that: stories. But then things begin to go bump in the night.

Fabien always seems to be right at hand when things are at their worst. But is he her knight in shining armour, or is he behind all her troubles?

Finalist for the RNA Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Suspense.

Note that in the past, the "Friday" free book has often been free through the weekend, not just Friday, but last week that was not the case. (Darn!) So I'm not sure about this weekend, so best to just grab either or both now if you want it...

[library addict]

Weekly Report:

Read:

• The Royal Spy’s Redemption (Dangerous in Dallas #4) by Addison Fox (B/4 stars)
• Faine (Sectors New Allies #17) by Veronica Scott (B/4 stars)
• Off Limits Attraction (The Heirs of Hansol #3) by Jayci Lee (B/4 stars)

Purchased:

[sufue]

Tempting as Sin is the second in Rosalind James' Sinful, Montana series. It's free right now at Kindle US and UK, and I, at least, haven't seen it go free before, since I don't have it . (It is KU, but it's nice to have it in my library too...)

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076BRKP7Z
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076BRKP7Z

Spoiler:

Rafe Blackstone may play the sexiest werewolf superhero to ever melt a woman’s...heart...on the big screen, but Lily Hollander has already been bitten once by an actor, and once was enough. When she’s fooled all over again, it’s time to put that wayward heart in lockdown mode, especially once Rafe starts aiming his overprotective streak at her identical twin. Lily may seem like the softer side of the twinship, but nobody messes with her sister.

There’s nothing she can do about Rafe being her temporary neighbor in the mountains above Sinful, Montana, or about being forced to witness the least impressive feats of horsemanship known to man. That doesn’t mean she has to let him into her lingerie store, her heart, or any other part of her anatomy. He can just take his silver-blue wolf eyes, his rueful smile, and the rest of his gorgeous self, and...Wait, where was she again?

Oh, yeah. Are you allowed to hate your future almost-brother-in-law, if you do it really, really quietly?

[sufue]

Another Joffe romance for "Free Friday", but although I'm late posting it, it's still free as of early Saturday morning...

The House that Alice Built, by Chris Penhall
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6FJWLQR
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6FJWLQR

Spoiler:

She was renovating her house, but maybe now she can renovate her whole life . . .

Alice Dorothy Matthews is nothing if not sensible. She leaves the adventures to other people, in particular, her best friend Kathy, who’s living it up in Portugal. Alice is renovating her house in London while her insufferable ex, Adam, travels the world.

Alice tells herself she’s fine just the way things are. But then a postcard from Buenos Aires turns her life upside down . . . Her ex wants to sell the house that they bought together.

So Alice does something spontaneous for the first time in many, many years. She joins Kathy in sunny Portugal.

Alice feels alive for the first time in forever. She remembers how she used to be carefree and adventurous. Can she find her way back to the person she used to be?

Then her newfound sense of self begins to attract the attention of gorgeous — and arrogant — Luis . . .

Will Alice realize that you don’t always need a house to find a home?